Redondo Elementary Celebrates 65 Years

Amid music and outfits from the 1960s, Redondo Elementary School kicked off its 65th Anniversary Celebration on October 3.

Fittingly doing so on National Techies Day, the Redondo Techies’ principal, Niurka Milian-Valdes, welcomed students, faculty and staff past and present, and alumni to the morning event, explaining that while their mascot is the Techie, their school represents something more.

“What makes Redondo truly unique is something more special: that we are a neighborhood school,” said Milian. “More than half of our families still walk to school, hundreds of parents join us every morning out at the front gate; this sense of community, of neighborhoodness… is what makes us unique.”

As a school that initially started as just four buildings, Redondo Elementary now includes 17 buildings, along with a fully functioning Head Start and early childhood education up to third grade.

Additionally, they recently went from a grade C to an A ranked school in one year, were recognized as an Upstander School, awarded a Silver STEAM Designation in their first year as a STEAM school for the 2023-24 school year, and a Gold STEAM Designation the next year as the fourth-highest scoring school in Miami-Dade County.

With accolades such as these, Milian reminded the applauding attendees of their school's motivation and motto.

“Always remember, Techies are always on the move,” said Milian. “Because once a Techie, always a Techie.”

Illustrating this, Homestead Mayor Steven Losner, an alumnus of Redondo Elementary School, spoke about what he learned on the day of the celebration.

“If we had no other lesson here today, we learned that good music doesn't go out of style,” Losner said.

Detailing his time there as a first grader in 1967, Losner recalled the classrooms he attended, the cafeteria where he ate lunch or attended assemblies, the courtyard he looked out into, and his teachers who he never forgot — and who never forgot him.

In the passage of time, with all the changes there, Losner said there was yet something that remained the same.

“One constant is that we are a Redondo family and a neighborhood school.”

To this, Mayor Losner then presented a framed proclamation to Milian from the City of Homestead, declaring October 3, 2025, “Redondo Elementary Day.”

After the ecstatic crowd was entertained by a rousing guitar solo, the third graders sang “Another Lego Brick in the Wall,” and Miami-Dade School Board member Luisa Santos also offered her congratulations.

“Sixty-five years is a real accomplishment,” said Santos. “This school… this family has been here, they have seen it through the decades. So many of us have benefited from a school that has been an anchor through changes in the community, through changes in development, through natural disasters — this school has survived it all. It is an honor to get to celebrate with you all today.”

A time capsule was then presented, in which representatives from all of the Redondo grade levels offered items to place inside it, such as lists of popular items among the students and letters from them. The time capsule, set to be opened in ten years, will be planted outside alongside a tree commemorating the 65th anniversary.

Lastly, Milian also discussed her other plans for the school's future.

“Continue to be an A school, continue to keep supporting our students as they explore science and become Techies, and just keep moving forward,” Milian said, adding, “And looking forward to having another 65 years of being your best choice for Miami-Dade Public Schools.”